*insert witty title here*

This is where my geekiness and feminism collide. Well, they always collide, but that's beside the point. I am addicted to Torchwood. Now people in the UK may know what I'm talking about, but everyone else who doesn't happen to be up on what's being shown on BBC3 may not know what it is.

Here's a brief summary: (And I'm not sure that this will be relevant to those in the US w/o the Sci-Fi network, but trust me, the "tofurkey" of this post doesn't depend on knowing about/watching the show)

Torchwood is the code word for a UK run alien research centre (that we learned in one of the first episodes of series 2 was created by Queen Victoria after meeting the good Doctor) that of course is super top secret and is run by Captain Jack Harkness, who after Rose (Dr. Who) revived him is no longer able to die. There's Ianto, Toshiko, Owen, and the new person: the sort of point of view character for us, Gwen. "Torchwood , a spin-off from the popular sci-fi show Doctor Who, follows a group of investigators working for the secret organisation of the same name. Set in Cardiff, the team specialise in alien technology that has landed on Earth, and crime, whether it be alien or human." The opening credits go like this: "Torchwood, outside the government, beyond the police: tracking down alien life on earth and arming the human race against the future. The 21st century is when everything changes, and you've got to be ready."

Ok, back to what I was (really) writing about. Now this show has some things that are less then ideal, but I can say that about Buffy too, and it's obviously one of the most feminist pieces on TV. I'm not saying it's perfect, etc. I'm just saying it's better then other TV, which is saying a lot.

First there's the AWESOME fact that the creators of the show have all ready said that everyone on the show will have romantic or sexual experiences with people of both genders (in the 1st episode Owen seduces a man and a woman, in the 2nd episode we see Gwen kiss an alien inhibited Carys and in the 4th episode we see Jack snogging Ianto) and Jack has all ready (see reference to 2nd episode) called human's ideas of sexuality 'quaint' when someone asks "didn't she say she had a boyfriend." And it seems that Toshiko will have an affair with another woman in the next episode (those in the UK don't tell me what happens, I won't get finished downloading the episode until about wednesday/thursday). This is great as there have been a few shows on the air with gay characters, but I've never seen a show in which all the leads are not quite straight. Bi is still a curse word many places (unfortunately) but I like that all the characters are neither straight nor gay, especially that they're not all straight. Also it seems that whenever we have a cast of mostly gay characters the show is about being gay (see: Will & Grace, The L Word). Here it's just a side point like being straight is a side point to (pick a show on primetime TV). As yet they don't make any big deal about anyone's sexuality, and with the increasing alien encounters, maybe they will expand their definition from bi- to queer, because in my opinion bi- is a 'quaint' term (for me anyway) because there are more then 2 genders out there right now, within the human race.

Then the show introduced me to a piece of technology that I want. It's this thing that transports you to the past, but only a very certain past. You see the emotional imprint of something that happened in the past, and you experience emotionally what the person at that time experienced. Now I think Owen is a big old git, but I think he's starting to learn, because while he had the device he saw a rape (well, the beginnings of one) and he felt the fear, the terror that the woman experienced. (And yes it was someone she knew.) Owen became obsessed with the rapist, because he was never brought to trial. He found him and told him about how he knew, letting him know that he knew what a bastard he was. Gwen has to talk Owen out of stabbing him.

I think this is the only way we can make men understand. (Again, not all men.) They experience the terror, the helplessness, the pain. Unfortunately people learn best from their own experiences. We can talk all we want about the horrors of rape, but unless we can make them feel how horrible it is, most people will never understand the gravity of the situation. I think it would do a lot to end oppression, if everyone has to experience what another person goes through. I'd take that, gladly.

PS If anyone in the UK knows how to create torrents I'd really like the Torchwood DeClassified 6 and up since I can't access it from outside the UK)